HACKTORIA: Naval Intrusion Writeup

Published in

The Sleuth Sheet

4 min readApr 4, 2023

PROLOGUE

Captain Chen was at the helm of the Taiwanese naval vessel, patrolling the waters surrounding their island nation. He and his crew were on high alert, knowing that any foreign vessels entering Taiwanese waters without permission could be a threat to their national security.
As they scanned the horizon, they spotted an unidentified vessel approaching from the west. Chen ordered his crew to prepare for potential action and attempted to make contact with the vessel via radio. However, there was no response from the other side.
The vessel continued to move towards the Taiwanese waters, and Chen had no choice but to intercept it. He ordered his crew to activate the ship’s lights and sirens to signal the vessel to stop. But the vessel continued to move towards them, unfazed by their warnings.
Chen’s instincts kicked in, and he knew that he had to take action. He ordered his crew to prepare for engagement, and they readied their weapons. However, before they could open fire, the vessel suddenly changed course and started to move away from the Taiwanese waters.
Chen breathed a sigh of relief but knew that they could not let the unidentified vessel escape without knowing its purpose. He ordered a UAV to be launched and tasked it with taking pictures of the vessel from the air.
The UAV soared high above the vessel, capturing detailed images of the vessel’s hull and deck. The images were relayed back to the naval vessel, and Chen and his team analyzed them for any potential threats.
As they reviewed the images, they noticed that the vessel had no visible markings or identification numbers. This discovery only heightened their concerns, and Chen ordered his crew to track the vessel’s movements and keep an eye on it.
The Taiwanese naval vessel continued to follow the unidentified vessel from a safe distance, monitoring its movements and keeping it under close watch. Eventually, the vessel moved further away from Taiwanese waters and disappeared from their radar.
Chen and his crew were relieved that the situation ended peacefully, but they knew that they had to remain vigilant at all times. The incident reminded them that their nation’s security was always at stake and that they had to be ready to respond to any potential threats. Not wasting any time, they filed a detailed report to their authorities. Perhaps they could identify the mysterious vessel.

MISSION BRIEFING

Greetings, Special Agent K.
We have a special case on our hands today. As tensions around the island nation of Taiwan rise by the day, allied nations reach out frequently for our help. Today is no exception.
This morning at 09:43 Taipei Standard Time, the Taiwanese Navy identified a foreign vessel entering it’s waters. Upon making contact, the ship left westward for international waters. However, a UAV was dispatched and managed to snatch a picture of the vessel.
The ship did not identify, nor does it match the database of known vessels operated by any Navy around the world. It comes close to several, but appears to be altered for a different purpose.
The Taiwanese government signed a contract for our services to identify the original make and model of the vessel.
As always, Special Agent K. The Contract is yours, if you choose to accept.

MATERIALS AND ANSWER INSTRUCTION

Download the FLAGFILE
Answer Format type-123q-nato-reporting-name
Answer Sample type-555d-kingkong-IV

METHODOLOGY

It was not that difficult of a challenge to identify the vessel in the photo. A good old Google reverse image search was sufficient enough to produce a positive result.